While we're there, we try to take in all the natural beauty that this country has to offer. The fresh air, the wide open spaces, grocery shopping , yes you read right, compared to HK France is the Mecca of food shopping and most of all our time together as a family.
Days were spent between our olive groves and home. Sweating it out in the fields, yes some cursing was involved. Cooking up a storm. Relaxing on our patio. Having friends over for dinner, BBQ's, breakfast outside with the first rays of sun peeping through the oak trees.
Painting the garage floor, installing shelves and putting up a bit of nostalgia, the licence plate above the window from the car Alex had when we first met. He called me to come in the garage, I walked in to see that. Made me smile, then the girls were like what? what? So it was a trip down memory lane telling our story. Later on during our holiday they were looking through our photo albumns (must make more albumns, girls had so much fun looking through them and so did I) and spotted us with the car and said ah look , it's the licence plate thats in the garage.
Jam making, fruit picking, tartines smothered with home made butter, yes we did!!! Foraging, finding and Mathilde finding pleasure in finding the little golden girolles peeping through the dampened leaves in a sometimes intimidating yet majestic forest.
Driving the car into a ditch (not recommended). Vowing to never drive again on these tiny french road and cursing every one of them.
Driving again on the tiny french roads and having a whole new respect for the deep ditches on the sides of them.
Eating, eating and more eating.
Making too many foie gras...
Steamed fish with fresh, wild fennel from the garden.
Mushrooms fresh from the forest
Salted caramel macarons
Fois gras with the whole, fresh preserved figs made earlier.
Heart shaped pancakes because lets face it, everyone loves a heart shaped pancake and round ones sometimes just don't cut it!
Ahh, fresh olives and I'll leave it at that....
